Jews, Muslims and the new Democrat-dominated Congress

As Jewish Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday, their concerns about US relations with Israel were upended, not by any of the candidates, but by President Trump.

Trump announced that, under an agreement reached with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the bulk of US aid to Israel would be curtailed at the end of the year.

For 20 years, congressional debate on Israel has centred on the appropriate level of military aid in light of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flagrant violation of international law. Now, as the new Congress takes shape, Trump and Netanyahu are substantially removing the matter from the hands of Congress.

The announcement formed an unexpected cap to a campaign marked by fearmongering about the impact of a handful of far-left candidates on the US-Israel relationship.

Foremost among those targeted on the issue of Israel this campaign season has been incoming Senator Abdul El-Sayed. Sayed is a Muslim whose parents immigrated from Egypt before he was born. He has been subject to relentless Islamophobia from the most prominent Republicans, everything from racist plays on his name to suggesting, without the least foundation, that he had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed is now the first Muslim to win a seat in the US Senate.

You would think that American Jews would be sympathetic to one receiving that kind of abuse, but El-Sayed has done much to hurt his cause. Jewish leaders criticised El-Sayed for his tepid response to antisemitic statements from leftist groups supportive of his campaign and for failing to rebuke antisemitic supporters.